Introducing our first foray into Duncan Taylor's new octave cask program, bottling single malts from barrels 1/8th the size of a normal cask, resulting in more wood contact for faster maturation (as well as far fewer available bottles!). Imperial is a distillery in Scotland's Highland region that is mainly used as a key source for the Pernod-Ricard blended whiskies, and rarely finds itself bottled as a single malt. The whisky is renowned for it's soft, honey-coated character and our newest acquisition definitely exhibits concentrated sweet honey with vanilla bean on the initial entry. A second taste reveals the layers of stonefruit and a gentle mouthfeel, despite being bottled at cask strength. That undiluted 48.7% is perhaps this whisky's greatest attribute, being that no water is needed to proof the whisky down and allowing the all of the flavors to be enjoyed uninhibited. The slightly higher-than-normal proof is key in keeping all of the flavors in perfect balance. One of our top goals in searching out exclusive whiskies is not only to find quality, but also rarity, in the hopes that we can all educate our palates together. Getting to taste the pure exctract of the Imperial distillery seemed as pedagogically stimulating a project as it was a delicious one. Only 70 bottles produced! -David Driscoll, K&L Spirits Buyer